Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Dr Monday Onyekachi Ubani, has offered a clarification of the memorandum issued by the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court prohibiting the use of the title “Barrister” as a prefix to names, stating that the directive is being misread by some as creating a general prohibition binding on the public, and that in his view it does nothing of the sort.
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“There appears to be some misunderstanding regarding the recent communication from the Registrar of the Supreme Court concerning the use of the title ‘Barrister,'” Ubani stated.
“Some have interpreted the directive to mean that it is now unlawful for anyone to address a legal practitioner as ‘Barrister.’ With respect, I do not believe that is the correct interpretation,” he stated.
Ubani set out what he understands the circular to be.
“In my view, the directive is essentially an administrative and professional guideline regulating how legal practitioners should describe themselves in official documents, particularly court processes and formal correspondence. It is directed at lawyers in the conduct of their professional practice, not at members of the public in their everyday interactions,” he stated.
The central plank of Ubani’s clarification is the distinction between administrative regulation and criminal law.
“The circular does not create a criminal offence. It does not make it a crime for anyone to call a lawyer ‘Barrister,’ nor does it render a lawyer liable simply because another person chooses to address him or her by that title,” he stated.
“Criminal liability can only arise where an Act of the National Assembly expressly creates an offence, and the Registrar’s directive is certainly not such legislation,” Ubani stated.
The point invokes the constitutional requirement, under Section 36(12) of the Constitution, that no person shall be convicted of a criminal offence unless that offence is defined and the penalty prescribed in a written law. An administrative memorandum from a court registry, however senior the court, does not meet that threshold.
Ubani set out the practical effect as he understands it.
“The practical effect of the directive, therefore, is that lawyers filing processes in court or writing officially to courts, institutions, or individuals should comply with the prescribed professional designation and refrain from describing themselves as ‘Barrister’ where the directive prohibits it,” he stated.
“Any issue arising from non-compliance would ordinarily be one of professional or administrative regulation, not criminal culpability,” Ubani stated.
On the position of a lawyer addressed as “Barrister” by others, Ubani was clear.
“If a client, colleague, friend, or member of the public chooses to address a legal practitioner as ‘Barrister,’ the lawyer cannot reasonably be said to be in breach of the directive merely because of the manner in which another person addresses him or her,” he stated.
Ubani urged restraint in interpretation.
“We should, therefore, avoid giving the directive an interpretation that it neither expresses nor intends. It is important to distinguish between official professional usage by lawyers and informal social usage by members of the public,” he stated.
He closed by affirming the duty of compliance while cautioning against exaggerating the consequences.
“As lawyers, we must comply with lawful administrative directives issued in the regulation of our profession. At the same time, we should be careful not to attribute legal consequences to such directives beyond what they actually provide,” Ubani stated.
“That, in my respectful opinion, is the proper understanding of the Supreme Court Registrar’s directive,” he concluded.
The memorandum, dated July 13, 2026, and signed by the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court, Kabir E. Akanbi, Esq., was addressed to all litigation staff, legal practitioners, court registrars and lawyers.
It stated that the Chief Justice of Nigeria had directed that the use of the title “Barrister” as a prefix to names “is inappropriate and inconsistent with the standards of professionalism expected within the Supreme Court of Nigeria,” and directed all officers concerned “to discontinue the use of the title ‘Barrister’ before their names in all official correspondence, records, documents, identity materials, and any other official engagements with immediate effect.”
It also asked Heads of Departments and Unit Heads “to ensure strict compliance with this directive by all officers under their supervision.”
The clarification was issued by Dr M. Onyekachi Ubani, SAN, Legal Practitioner and Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
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